At least he has the right attitude.
Since Coach Pete Carroll anointed him the starter before taking a snap in training camp, Seattle Seahawks quarterback Tarvaris Jackson has faced intense scrutiny, playing under the immense shadow of the former face of the franchise, Matt Hasselbeck.
And while not pretty, Jackson helped lead the Seahawks to a 13-10 win over NFC West Division rival Arizona in the team’s home opener at CenturyLink Field on Sunday, improving Seattle’s record to 1-2 on the year.
And in victory Jackson accomplished something Hasselbeck didn’t do – he won his first home start as a Seahawk.
But even a win could not stop Jackson hearing a smattering of boos and chants of “Charlie, Charlie!” echoing throughout the crowd – fans calling for backup Charlie Whitehurst to enter the game.
Jackson showed he’s tough enough to handle the job. He was sacked four times, adding to a total of 14 times on the year.
He says the negative vibes don’t bother him.
“You want to play for your fans, but I’m playing for the guys in this locker room,” Jackson said. “I knew that it was going to be a hard situation, being that Matt (Hasselbeck) was here for a long time and did some great things here.
“I have a lot of people to win over. I’ll probably never win them over. My whole thing here is to come here and be the best I can be and try to get the team some wins and be a leader. If they keep booing and we keep winning, then I don’t care.”
Seattle linebacker David Hawthorne says he appreciates the toughness of the team’s leader on offense.
“We’ll ride or die with him,” Hawthorne said. “And we believe in him.”
Jackson and the rest of Seattle’s offense received a big boost from the debut of Sidney Rice, who missed the first two games of the regular season with a damaged shoulder.
Rice, who signed a five-year, $41 million deal with Seattle during free agency, proved his worth, finishing with eight catches for 109 yards.
“I just wanted to come out and do my job,” Rice said. “To come out and execute on the plays. If they call my number, make a play, and that’s exactly what I did.”
Seattle got on the scoreboard first, driving 47 yards on seven plays, with kicker Steven Hauschka chipping in a 30-yard field goal with 3:57 to play in the opening quarter.
The key play of the drive was a 32-yard strike to Rice down the sidelines over Arizona safety Adrian Wilson from Jackson.
The Cardinals (1-2) answered with a field goal of their own after a 26-yard, 10-play drive, with Jay Feely splitting the uprights from 44 yards out, tying the game at 3.
The Cardinals then took the lead with 7:29 left in the first half, driving 78 yards on eight plays, with Kolb finding Larry Fitzgerald in the back of the end zone. Fitzgerald jumped and made an amazing, 12-yard touchdown grab over Seattle cornerback Brandon Browner and safety Earl Thomas.
Hauschka completed the scoring in the first half, with a 52-yard field goal with 43 seconds left, cutting Arizona’s lead to 10-6.
The Seahawks took the lead for good on their opening drive of the second half, marching 72 yards on 14 plays, with Jackson scrambling and finding the end zone on an 11-yard run, giving Seattle a 13-10 lead with six minutes left in the third quarter.
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